L'Avenir Femmes 2024 U23s 21 to 24 August

[Samu Cuenca]

The GPS must be as high as Kasia after she's ridden 5 metres next to her husband on Alpe d'Huez.
Surely the gap can't still be exactly 4:20.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The gap was under 3 minutes at one point, but Rayer still has 3:45 inside the final 10 km. She's over 5 minutes behind Bunel and Holmgren, but she'll be getting close to the podium, if the gap stays the same at the finish.

 

[RedheadDane]

Apparently it was Schreiber in 2nd.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Apparently it was Schreiber in 2nd.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

DirectVelo published an interview with Rayer after the stage, in which she explains how difficult her season has been. After she got a foot infection which required surgery in May, she hasn't been able to regain her best form. She's also struggled to cope with the pressure she's felt since her junior days, and there have been times this year where she's not been able to train as a result of being unhappy on the bike. After experiencing her worst ride ever during the prologue, she broke in down in tears in a way which had only previously happened when she lost her grandfather and her 14 year old cat, but encouraging messages from her family and the people around her made her capable of carrying on in the race.

Yesterday, the initial goal with her solo attack was just to stay in front for long enough to get to ride past her parents, who were standing somewhere on Mont-Cenis. She wears a necklace in memory of her grandfather which she doesn't usually notice while riding, but she felt both its and her grandfather's presence during the final, windy kilometres on the flat which made the suffering easier. The interview finished off with saying how much she was going to celebrate and enjoy the victory after what she's gone through, cause she felt truly happy in that moment, while eating Haribo strawberries (no gummy bears for her) on a bench in Italy.

Mathew Mitchell mentioned on x-twitter, that she's also rumoured to FDJ, which would reunite her with Labous and Curinier. If that happens, then I hope Lapierre/Specialized gives her a bike. like the one Muzic got when she became French champion. with kitty paws on it in honour of Djidji, who died about a year ago.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Mathew Mitchell mentioned on x-twitter, that she's also rumoured to FDJ, which would reunite her with Labous and Curinier. If that happens, then I hope Lapierre/Specialized gives her a bike. like the one Muzic got when she became French champion. with kitty paws on it in honour of Djidji, who died about a year ago.

"Monsieur Delcourt, how many French grimpeuses would you like?"
"Yes"

 

[Samu Cuenca]

"Monsieur Delcourt, how many French grimpeuses would you like?"
"Yes"

However you can be disappointed in him missing out on some of those French talents initially.
But if he also signs Bego and Bunel now, then I might forgive him.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

They've started to climb Finestre now. Ryo, Hashimi and Romina Hinojosa have a lead of about 2 minutes.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Bunel's had a couple of digs to thin things out before the sterrato but is now happy to set it swell a bit again with a decent handful of riders there including all the main protagonists, you'd say.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Bunel's had a couple of digs to thin things out before the sterrato but is now happy to set it swell a bit again with a decent handful of riders there including all the main protagonists, you'd say.

She also had to decrease the gap to Hashimi to be on the safe side, since Ryo hasn't really been trying to slow down the front group.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Bunel quickly closed the gap to G1 (the GPS was useless as usual), and she has a healthy lead now. I was thinking that Holmgren's seated style and off-road capabilities could possibly give her an advantage on the gravel, but she isn't able to match Bunel's climbing prowess.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Bunel doing this at age 19 off the back of the Tour de France Femmes tells us quite unequivocally: 8 days is not enough for a Grand Tour (hell, they did more than 10 during the Racing In The Dark era) and the women can quite comfortably handle more, bring it on urgently and immediately plzkthx. When it was just somebody like Evie Stevie doing it (she did the Giro and Thüringen back to back in about 2012) they could argue "well, the very best have the endurance but the péloton doesn't have the depth to handle it. Well, here we've got a 19-year-old in her first pro year winning on monolithic HC mountains in the leader's jersey on her 12th race day in 14.

Edit:
Awful helicam work missing the Spaniards fighting out 3rd.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Bunel doing this at age 19 off the back of the Tour de France Femmes tells us quite unequivocally: 8 days is not enough for a Grand Tour (hell, they did more than 10 during the Racing In The Dark era) and the women can quite comfortably handle more, bring it on urgently and immediately plzkthx. When it was just somebody like Evie Stevie doing it (she did the Giro and Thüringen back to back in about 2012) they could argue "well, the very best have the endurance but the péloton doesn't have the depth to handle it. Well, here we've got a 19-year-old in her first pro year winning on monolithic HC mountains in the leader's jersey on her 12th race day in 14.

Edit:
Awful helicam work missing the Spaniards fighting out 3rd.

Bunel has said, that she deliberately came into the Tour undertrained, so she could maximise her chances of doing well here. A big shame we didn't get to hear her roaring celebration after the finish.

 

[MarcusAlexander]

Can I ask a question?